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Monday, July 16, 2012

US motivational author Stephen Covey dies, aged 79

LOS ANGELES: US
motivational guru Stephen Covey, author of international best-seller
"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," died Monday at the age of 79,
his company said.

Covey died from the effects of a bicycle
accident he suffered in April, said a statement by consulting company
FranklinCovey, of which he was a co-founder and former vice-chairman.

"In his final hours, he was surrounded by his loving wife and each of his children and their spouses," it said.

"The
7 Habits of Highly Effective People" has sold more than 20 million
copies in 40 languages throughout the world. In 2002 Forbes named it one
of the 10 most influential management books ever written.

Other
books by Covey, who in 1996 was named one of Time magazine's 25 Most
Influential Americans, include "First Things First," "Principle-Centered
Leadership," and "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families."

Covey
started as a professor at Brigham Young University in Utah, but left
full-time teaching in 1984 to set up the Covey Leadership Center, and
went on to become an internationally-renowned author, speaker, and
consultant.

He passed away "peacefully" in hospital in Idaho,
"due to the residual effects of a bicycle accident he suffered this past
April," the company statement said.

"We lost a dear friend
today. Stephen was one of the world's great human beings. His impact is
incalculable and his influence will continue to inspire generations to
come," said FranklinCovey chairman Bob Whitman.